Elaine Poker-Yount
Join us for our Dementia caregiving summit, “Expert Tools to Manage Your Loved One’s New Reality While Creating Your Own Emotional Resiliency,” on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Sun Lakes United Methodist Church, Lindsay Hall, 9248 E. Riggs Road, Sun Lakes. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. The presentation is free, and a complimentary lunch will be served.
Our keynote speaker is Gary Parks, a pastor, national speaker, and expert on navigating human relationships. Gary will offer insight and tools for understanding the complexities and overwhelming responsibility of caregiving in this deeply emotional journey. In his heartfelt presentation, we’ll explore the complex emotions that arise when you don’t know how to handle new and unknown behaviors and make difficult decisions. Gary will teach us how we process information and then show us how to use those skills to help navigate the changes we’re experiencing as care partners.
Together we’ll discuss how to acknowledge and process guilt, find pathways to self-forgiveness, and develop healthier ways to navigate your emotional world. This session will provide practical insights and compassionate support to help you find peace in your decisions and strength in your caregiving journey.
Additional speakers include Ann Wheat, executive director of Duet: Partners In Health & Aging and family advocate for over 35 years. Among Ann’s innumerable accomplishments, including the 2023 Phoenix Business Journal’s Outstanding Woman of the Year award, Ann has worked closely with Pauline Boss, PhD, the groundbreaking theorist who first identified a complex form of unresolved grief she named Ambiguous Loss. Ann will be discussing Pauline’s life-changing book Loving Someone with Dementia. Their work together launched the Finding Meaning and Hope video discussion series for family caregivers of those living with dementia, now offered in 17 states. Ann will discuss and help us all understand and process the concept of Ambiguous Loss and how it plays out in our everyday lives.
CEO and founder of Pastoral Care Associates, Reverend Michael Lessard, author and celebrated speaker, will close the day’s speakers. Rev. Michael helps individuals conquer their anxiety when they’re experiencing emotional challenges. A gifted teacher and trainer, his career spans 40-plus years. Attendees will learn to identify the unique stressors they face as a care partner, as well as the anxiety those stressors produce. We’ll learn how anxiety presents itself unconsciously in our bodies, differently for everyone, and we’ll identify what we can do about it, learning the tools to work with to fulfill our unique needs.
For more information or to make a reservation, call Sun Lakes United Methodist Church at 480-895-8766.